The new Paradisus Playa del Carmen (La Perla and La Esmeralda)

[asabatino]

Thanks for the advice.  Do you by any chance have wedding pictures you can share with us?

 

@@asabatino I budgeted about $4000 for my flowers.  The best advice I can give you is to ask Cecelia for the flowers that are in season and native to Mexico.  Share your budget, and tell her the shape/size/color you want and see what she can do.  That helped me a lot.  A lot of flowers like hydrangea are not native and depending on when your wedding is, out of season.  I had my heart set on peonies,  but they were going to be outrageously priced so I just put that out of my head.  Good luck!

[KK2013]

@@asabatino Yes, I have tons!  Chose these three so you can see Gazebo, centerpieces and bridesmaid bouquets.  Let me know if you'd like to see anything else!

[asabatino]

@@KK2013

 

Thanks so much for sharing.  Everything looks so beautiful.

 

@@asabatino Yes, I have tons!  Chose these three so you can see Gazebo, centerpieces and bridesmaid bouquets.  Let me know if you'd like to see anything else!

 

 

[KK2013]

@@KK2013

 

Thanks so much for sharing.  Everything looks so beautiful.

Thank you so much!

[stan123]

I just came back from my wedding and it was fabulous! Had ceremony on Gabi Bridge and reception at Gabi Club with guests staying on La Perla as well as the La Esmeralda side! 

 

Our onsite wedding coordinator, Aurora, was great! Paid $2000 extra for using 2 outside vendors ( DJ and photography) but it was money well spent! All of my 64 wedding guests loved the resort.  I think it was a very successful wedding because we had never visited this resort or met with any of our vendors in person. Crazy, right?  

Edited October 21, 2014 by stan123

[asabatino]

Congratulations!!!  Happy to hear everything went as planned.  I met with Aurora on site as well she is great.  Any helpful tips you can give us brides?

Also did you have a 3 hour reception?  Did you feel the need to extend it for the extra money?

 

I just came back from my wedding and it was fabulous! Had ceremony on Gabi Bridge and reception at Gabi Club with guests staying on La Perla as well as the La Esmeralda side! 

 

Our onsite wedding coordinator, Aurora, was great! Paid $2000 extra for using 2 outside vendors ( DJ and photography) but it was money well spent! All of my 64 wedding guests loved the resort.  I think it was a very successful wedding because we had never visited this resort or met with any of our vendors in person. Crazy, right?  

[stan123]

Oh, sure!

 

1) I recommend extending the reception one more hour if your crowd likes to have fun and dance a lot.  Initially, we didn't extend it but we made a last minute decision (2 days before our wedding) to go ahead with the extension.  Aurora had no issues with that and we just had to pay the remaining balance via credit card.  Our reception ended up lasting 7:00 - 11:00pm.  I'm so glad we did because the reception felt like it was short even with the 1 hour extension.

 

2) Make sure you have the most recent copy of their wedding brochure that details the wedding packages & extras they offer.  They have a policy that states updates/changes to the wedding packages/extras are subject to change, without notice.  For example, when it was time to choose the items for our Chill Out Chic menu - I had noticed that they removed the cocktail hour from my package.   However, when I first signed the contract back in August 2013 I was referencing an older brochure that included a cocktail hour.  With the help of my travel agent, I ended up keeping the cocktail hour!

 

3) Let Aurora help you book large group dinners in advance! In general, DINNERS at any restaurant in Paradisus need a reservation so that they can have adequate staff.  We didn't capitalize on Aurora's offer prior to coming to Mexico so when we decided to ask Aurora for help we had limited options but somehow she worked her magic and we were able to get 60 of my guests in 1 restaurant (although we were split into 2 separate sections due to the last minute request).  Can you tell we're a little indecisive? lol.

 

4) I booked the bridal suite for $348.  Even though it cost extra it gave us more space to get ready and a better place for the hair/makeup people to set up.

 

5) There was a time I had difficulty reaching Perla as well for decoration quotes.  So I ended up facebooking the company, and I asked if someone else can help me since it was getting down to the wire and I hadn't heard from Perla for a couple of weeks.  Well, it worked and someone reached out! 

 

 

This resort is definitely pricier than others in the area but in the end we definitely saved money.  Our budget would have easily doubled if we had a local wedding instead of a destination wedding.  My guests had a blast and really enjoyed the food at the various restaurants on the resort.  

 

These are all the tips I can think of at this time so I hope they helped.  Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

 

Congratulations!!!  Happy to hear everything went as planned.  I met with Aurora on site as well she is great.  Any helpful tips you can give us brides?

Also did you have a 3 hour reception?  Did you feel the need to extend it for the extra money?

Edited October 22, 2014 by stan123

[asabatino]

Great tips, thanks!

I'm still undecided about my location.  Hadar or Gabi Club.  I'm afraid that it might be too hot outside for an outdoor wedding.  How was your experience with the weather on your wedding day?  Was it uncomfortably hot?  I'm getting married in May.  Has any other brides have bad experience with an outdoor wedding being too hot?

Oh, sure!

 

1) I recommend extending the reception one more hour if your crowd likes to have fun and dance a lot.  Initially, we didn't extend it but we made a last minute decision (2 days before our wedding) to go ahead with the extension.  Aurora had no issues with that and we just had to pay the remaining balance via credit card.  Our reception ended up lasting 7:00 - 11:00pm.  I'm so glad we did because the reception felt like it was short even with the 1 hour extension.

 

2) Make sure you have the most recent copy of their wedding brochure that details the wedding packages & extras they offer.  They have a policy that states updates/changes to the wedding packages/extras are subject to change, without notice.  For example, when it was time to choose the items for our Chill Out Chic menu - I had noticed that they removed the cocktail hour from my package.   However, when I first signed the contract back in August 2013 I was referencing an older brochure that included a cocktail hour.  With the help of my travel agent, I ended up keeping the cocktail hour!

 

3) Let Aurora help you book large group dinners in advance! In general, DINNERS at any restaurant in Paradisus need a reservation so that they can have adequate staff.  We didn't capitalize on Aurora's offer prior to coming to Mexico so when we decided to ask Aurora for help we had limited options but somehow she worked her magic and we were able to get 60 of my guests in 1 restaurant (although we were split into 2 separate sections due to the last minute request).  Can you tell we're a little indecisive? lol.

 

4) I booked the bridal suite for $348.  Even though it cost extra it gave us more space to get ready and a better place for the hair/makeup people to set up.

 

5) There was a time I had difficulty reaching Perla as well for decoration quotes.  So I ended up facebooking the company, and I asked if someone else can help me since it was getting down to the wire and I hadn't heard from Perla for a couple of weeks.  Well, it worked and someone reached out! 

 

 

This resort is definitely pricier than others in the area but in the end we definitely saved money.  Our budget would have easily doubled if we had a local wedding instead of a destination wedding.  My guests had a blast and really enjoyed the food at the various restaurants on the resort.  

 

These are all the tips I can think of at this time so I hope they helped.  Let me know if you have any other questions!

[stan123]

I'm not going to lie but it was hot on my wedding day but thank goodness there was a breeze that went through or it would be horrible (but it blew out some of my pillar candle centerpieces ).  Despite the heat and the wind, I personally think Gabi club is an amazing and unique venue.  But if air conditioning is really a must have then Hadar would be a good pick as well.

 

 

 

Great tips, thanks!

I'm still undecided about my location.  Hadar or Gabi Club.  I'm afraid that it might be too hot outside for an outdoor wedding.  How was your experience with the weather on your wedding day?  Was it uncomfortably hot?  I'm getting married in May.  Has any other brides have bad experience with an outdoor wedding being too hot?

Edited October 26, 2014 by stan123

[marycallb]

Hi all,

I’m new to this board! My fiancé and I are looking to get married at Paradisus July 2015.  We recently noticed that the website bluelenscaribe.com no longer seems to be working!?  When you select a wedding to view the pictures, an error message appears.  On their facebook page, there’s a picture of their logo with a red X but then there’s other pictures of what appears to be a party celebration.  Is it possible Blue Lens no longer exists but now they all called “Wedding Day Story”?  Is it still the same company?  We were looking to go with Blue Lens as our photographers but now we’re not quite sure…